Shoulder's bugging me

[Cruiser]

OK armchair orthos give me your diagnosis. My right shoulder has been hurting for about a month now. The pain is kind of sharp and it seems to come from the top towards the outside. It's most noticeable when I try to do pushups or bench press. It's intermittent and only occurs when I move my arm certain ways. Otherwise it doesn't hurt at all. I'm a sissy so at it's worst it's probably like a 2 or 3 on the 1 to 10 scale. I've got an appointment on Monday to have it looked at but I figured that most of you fuckers have nothing better to do than speculate anyway.

So, what's the diagnosis? Need any more info? Is it going to fall off?

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[Jethro]

Supraspinatus tear. Rotator cuff tendon on the top/outside of your shoulder. After many tears, I had mine re-connected a couple of months ago. I have torn both of them. Recuperation is a bitch, so don't do surgery unless it is absolutely necessary

[charles martel]

Supraspinatus tear. Rotator cuff tendon on the top/outside of your shoulder. After many tears, I had mine re-connected a couple of months ago. I have torn both of them. Recuperation is a bitch, so don't do surgery unless it is absolutely necessary

Had mine fixed in early May. Only needed one anchor. Talked to a guy in a sling at the mall this past Saturday. He needed four anchors. Mine was a tear and severe impingement after years of many different sports, plus working outside on the yard, etc. Just finished therapy two weeks ago. Slept on the couch for 6 months so I wouldn't roll over on the shoulder. Followed my therapists rules to the max. It healed well and have 100% range of motion again with no pain.

The problem with not fixing it is that you run the risk of accelerated arthritis, a possible frozen shoulder or even a dropped arm--at least, that what the various docs I consulted told me.

Get it fixed after ski season, if you can wait that long, although it will make pole planting this winter a bitch.

Good luck.

[stuckathuntermtn]

Stop doing bench presses? No one cares how much you can bench, fag.
But seriously, sounds like a strain. Stop working out. Ice it. You probably pulled a tendon or ligament or something.

[Tye 1on]

my left one has had similar issues for 6-9 months now, doesn't bug me enough to get it checked out...yet. More top/inside though. Pops some too, like if i'm holding a downward dog for a while, doesn't really hurt when it pops, just makes me wonder if it's gonna fall off or sumpin...Good luck cruiser!

[Jethro]

The problem with not fixing it is that you run the risk of accelerated arthritis, a possible frozen shoulder or even a dropped arm--at least, that what the various docs I consulted told me.

Get it fixed after ski season, if you can wait that long, although it will make pole planting this winter a bitch.

Good luck.

Definitely some truth here. Like Charles, I had hurt it repeatedly over 20 years until I finally did a complete tear. The best results happen before the tendon retracts, so I had surgery quickly, but I am out for the majority of this ski season. I had a couple of impingements fixed, but possibly the worst part was the bone on bone condition which the surgeon did microfracture for. Basically four operations in one.

[charles martel]

Definitely some truth here. Like Charles, I had hurt it repeatedly over 20 years until I finally did a complete tear. The best results happen before the tendon retracts, so I had surgery quickly, but I am out for the majority of this ski season. I had a couple of impingements fixed, but possibly the worst part was the bone on bone condition which the surgeon did microfracture for. Basically four operations in one.

Good luck and heal fast!

[Cruiser]

Went in yesterday and got the ortho to check me out. It turns out that I have some impingement of the rotator cuff that is likely caused by some bursitis. He told me to stop being such a pussy. But seriously he said that it probably wasn't tendonitis at my age and the xrays didn't show any evidence of a tear so he gave me a cortisone injection and told me to take some ibuprofen. I have very good insurance so he also invited me to come back anytime.

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[charles martel]

Man up, then:

[BigMontana]

As with almost any weight lifter is know, lay off all the "sexy" front work and actually balance out your body, work more back, stretch your pecs a few times a day, chances are you've created too big of a pec for too small of a back, and it' spelling your shoulder out of place.

Yes I see you already saw the doc, but I'll add my two cents anyway.

[Cruiser]

Appreciate the feedback Montana. I thought I had a pretty balanced routine going with lots of good pulling exercises to compliment the pushing ones but maybe I should reevaluate things just a bit. Either way, it was nice to get back to some easy pushups this morning after taking almost a month off from and pec work.

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[jma233]

Shoulder stress from benching occurs at the bottom of the lift when the elbows drop lower than the shoulders. There is no law that says you have to touch the bar to the chest when training. Also, if you incorporate some back arch into your set-up, you turn the lift from a pec exercise into more of a total body exercise that also hammers the back. Check out some youtube videos of powerlifting style bench press although this is the extreme of the technique. Notice that the really big guys have a big enough chest and a big enough back arch that their elbows aren't lower than their shoulders even when touching the bar to the chest.

[BigMontana]

Absolutely fucking DO NOT ever arch your lower back when bench pressing PERIOD. Google it, it's something idiots do to get 15 more lbs so they can impress a girl or worse a weight lifting judge. Those people end up getting multiple back surgeries. Arch your upper back yes, but NEVER EVER arch your lower back.

Also anyone who doesn't do full range of motion on an exercise looses strength in that same range, therefore if you start half assing range of motion you will never be able to stop, and you will never be able to fully apply any strength you gain or maintain in the real world. Which unless you are some vanity queen is frankly all that really matters.

Use any video of a chemistry set pretending to be human that you want to prove back arching is okay, but those people aren't human and they'll be dead of a heart attack long before back problems ever pop up, the rest of us have to use our bodies for the rest of our lives.

Also if you do either big back arches, or half reps I can almost guarantee you that the real dedicated weight lifters will not want to be seen spotting or in some serious gyms, even talking to you.

I don't have any intent to, and will not get into a pissing match defending anything I've said here. This is my side of how the real world works I'll let the OP decide his own course, I just wanted to let him know someone was blowing smoke up his ass.

[jma233]

I never said to train like a powerlifter. I said it was the extreme of the technique and that the guys who bench 500+ pounds (and therefore place an enormous load on their shoulders) rarely drop their elbows behind their shoulders. Here's a link that adresses what I was trying to convey:

http://www.muscleandfitness.com/work...our-arch-video

And I completely disagree with the advice to drop the elbows behind the shoulders at the bottom of a bench press for those of us with shoulder issues. It is absolutely true that if you neglect strengthening a muscle in a particular range that it will be weak in that range, but who cares if your pecs are strong in this position? I can't think of a single time in my life when I needed to be strong in a pressing motion when my elbows were behind my shoulders. I know that the conventional wisdom is to always work the pecs through the entire range of motion but this conventional wisdom has led a great number of veteran weight lifters to shoulder impingement type injuries.

[Meadow Skipper]

I had adhesive capsulitis (frozen shoulder) some time back. Not much is known about it - it comes on and progresses slowly, and there isn't much you can do about it except hope that you don't have it. Good luck.

http://www.aafp.org/afp/2011/0215/p417.html
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2682415/

[Cruiser]

Update: I was still experiencing some pain after the cortisone injection so I got back in touch with the ortho. He sent me for an MRI to get some better images than the in-office xrays. Yesterday he called me back to discuss what he found. He told me that I have glenhumeral arthritis in addition to the bursitis. Evidently glenhumeral arthritis is fairly common in adult over 50, but I'm only 35. So that kind of sucks. Gonna go meet with him sometime soon to go over the MRI results and possible treatment options in person.

Sorta getting the feeling that I can expect to have pain here pretty much every day for the rest of my life. Son of a bitch...

[jma233]

Did the ortho put you in touch with a PT to address the impingement or did he just do the cortisone?

[Cruiser]

Nope, just the injection. I'll make sure to mention PT when I see him for our next appointment though.

Been doing glu/chon supplements for a while but my limited research has lead me to believe that it might be worthwhile to add hyaluronic acid to the mix as well. Any feedback on the stuff?

[jma233]

The notion that arthritis is a wear and tear injury is misleading IMO. If everything is in proper alignment and the muscles are strong and firing properly then no one would have arthritis. There is always something underlying the arthritis diagnosis. I would really find a PT to address the impingement. If the ortho doesn't think along these lines then he is not the guy for you IMHO.

[splat]

Went in yesterday and got the ortho to check me out. It turns out that I have some impingement of the rotator cuff that is likely caused by some bursitis. He told me to stop being such a pussy. But seriously he said that it probably wasn't tendonitis at my age and the xrays didn't show any evidence of a tear so he gave me a cortisone injection and told me to take some ibuprofen. I have very good insurance so he also invited me to come back anytime.

Don't do cortisone. Do a prp shot.
Time heals. I repeat. Time heals.

[rod9301]

+1+1

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[kingdom-tele]

Update: I was still experiencing some pain after the cortisone injection so I got back in touch with the ortho. He sent me for an MRI to get some better images than the in-office xrays. Yesterday he called me back to discuss what he found. He told me that I have glenhumeral arthritis in addition to the bursitis. Evidently glenhumeral arthritis is fairly common in adult over 50, but I'm only 35. So that kind of sucks. Gonna go meet with him sometime soon to go over the MRI results and possible treatment options in person.

Sorta getting the feeling that I can expect to have pain here pretty much every day for the rest of my life. Son of a bitch...

How does that shoulder blade move compared to the side that isn't in pain? Address any imbalances first, shitty shoulder blade mobility, rib, thoracic spine, hell, lumbar spine, elbow, wrist, all will have some effect if they move crappily. You need space in the joint. If the covering around the joint is tight it you will have less space and any arthritic changes will be amplified. Ice massage for the bursitis when it is ticked off. good luck